Report on the North Sanpete Stake

My dear brethren and sisters, my heart is filled with gratitude to my heavenly Father for the opportunity that I have of meeting with you here in conference. I have come here for many years to attend the conferences of the Latter-day Saints, held at the headquarters of Zion, and I have never left one of them disappointed. The inspiration that I have received in these gatherings and the counsel and teachings to which I have listened have been a guiding star to me through life. ¶

It must be a great testimony to the world, after having heard the Elders of this Church announce that we have a living Prophet upon the earth, as referred to in the hymn this afternoon, to see the people gathering here by the thousands, from all parts of this state and from other states in this Union, and from Canada in the north and Mexico in the south, that they might receive the word of the Lord. We have not come here to listen to man as man speaks, but we have come to receive the word of God through His inspired servants, the prophets, whom He has raised up to lead Israel in these latter days. We have gathered here to drink in of the inspiration of the Almighty, that we might receive the key-words for the future to guide us until we shall have the privilege and opportunity of meeting here again. Such a gathering as this proves that we believe what we proclaim: That God has raised up a Prophet in these last days, and that He has ushered in the great and glorious dispensation of the fulness of times to prepare the way for the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ. This is our testimony to the world. I have rejoiced in listening to this testimony during this conference, as borne by the authorities of the Church, and also by the mission presidents, who have come in from the various parts of the earth. They have borne their testimony that they know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. I was very much pleased to hear one of the mission presidents say that he and his fellow-laborers had been inspired to take up this subject in the mission field where they were laboring — to testify of that grand man and his mission to the earth. I have always maintained, and still maintain, that the most important thing for this generation to know is that God raised up the Prophet Joseph Smith and endowed him with the power, authority and keys to proclaim the Gospel to the world for the last time, and that through him Christ's Church was restored in its original power and with all its blessings. No greater message was given to man since the days of our Lord and Savior upon the earth. I rejoice, my brethren and sisters, to be numbered with you, and I thank God with all my heart that He searched me out in the land that gave me birth and enlightened my mind with the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that He brought me here. When I first came here and entered the large tabernacle for the first time, I felt that the inspiration of God was there. I saw then for the first time that mighty man who then stood upon the earth as the mouthpiece of God to His people, President Brigham Young. I felt that never before, or since, for that matter, had I heard a man speak who possessed greater power than that man. Although I could understand but very little of what he said, yet I felt that he was indeed a Prophet of God to that generation, as well as Joseph Smith had been. I feel that all the men who have stood in that position since have been prophets of God to this generation; and I feel that the great man who stands at the head of the Church of God today, in whose veins flows the blood of the great prophet of this generation, is indeed a Prophet of God unto this people. ¶

May God bless Zion; may His peace and His Spirit be and abide with us, and may we enjoy its blessings and its inspiration, that we may know what to do in all things. Brethren and sisters, we are working for a great cause. During this conference I have been struck with the magnitude of this great work in which we are engaged, it is growing and increasing in power, and we can realize the truth of Daniel's saying, that the little stone should, in time, fill the whole earth. It will be accomplished, and God grant that it may, and hasten the triumph of truth and right in the earth, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶